Putting the Customer First

When the opportunity came along to sit down with Chad Parris, I jumped at the chance. Parris, along with his company partner Lynda L. Buel, own and operate Security Risk Management Consultants in Columbus, Ohio.

What made this an extra rewarding experience, following an interview about SRMC services, was the opportunity to talk about Elliott Boxerbaum (1948-2014). Boxerbaum lived an extraordinary life in the security industry, and touched a number of lives for good, including Parris and Buel.

Boxerbaum was driven by good work and making the world a more secure place, but he also was a techie interested in futuristic gadgets. The latest advancement reawakened his passion for security, and without a doubt, he advocated for technology and its progress.

As is often the case with many people gone too soon, Boxerbaum died June 10, 2014 from complications of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

I barely knew Boxerbaum but had taken the opportunity to see him, visiting with him at manufacturer’s events through the years, all the while promising myself that I would sit down with him and do an in-depth story. I failed to get that interview, but am reminded that when a person has a feeling to do something of this magnitude, there is never a time like the present.

Boxerbaum started and built SRMC, and did so by bringing Buel and Parris on board. He knew both of them and trusted them to help build a fine security consulting company, that has now moved beyond the borders of the Buckeye State to numerous projects throughout North America, and even worldwide.

Success for Boxerbaum was likely measured not so much in consulting jobs won and completed, but a legacy that endures even today with assessments, planning, design and response. His ultimate goal was to build a company that would be known as trusted security advisors.

I think he would be proud of what he and his staff have achieved.

This article originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

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